1. Principles For
Managing
Ethics In The
Public Service
OECD
Recommendation
Dr. Edwin B.R. Gbargaye
Asst. Professor
Graduate Program in Business Management
and Public Administration
University of Liberia

2. • Although governments have
different cultural, political and
administrative environments, they
often confront similar ethical
challenges, and the responses in
their management show common
characteristics.

3. • Member countries need to have a
point of reference when combining
the elements of an effective ethics
management system in line with their
own political, administrative and
cultural circumstances.

4. Proposals of the Public
Management Committee
Member countries take action to
ensure well-functioning institutions
and systems for promoting ethical
conduct in the public service.
This can be achieved by:
1. developing and regularly reviewing
policies, procedures, practices and
institutions influencing ethical conduct
in the public service.

5. 2. promoting government action to
maintain high standards of conduct
and counter corruption in the public
sector.
3. incorporating the ethical dimension
into management frameworks to
ensure that management practices are
consistent with the values and
principles of public service.

6. 4. combining judiciously those aspects of
ethics management systems based on
ideals with those based on the respect
of rules.
5. assessing the effects of public
management reforms on public
service ethical conduct.

7. 6. using as a reference the
Principles for Managing Ethics in
the Public Service to ensure high
standards of ethical conduct.

8. Principles for Managing Ethics
in the Public Service
1. Ethical standards for public service should be
clear
• Public servants need to know the basic principles
and standards they are expected to apply to
their work and where the boundaries of
acceptable behavior lie.
• A concise, well-publicized statement of core
ethical standards and principles that guide public
service, for example in the form of a code of
conduct can accomplish this by creating a shared
understanding across government and within the
broader community.

9. 2. Ethical standards should be reflected in
the legal framework .
The legal framework is the basis for
communicating the minimum obligatory
standards and principles of behavior for
every public servant . Laws and
regulations could state the fundamental
values of public service and should
provide the framework for guidance,
investigation, disciplinary action and
prosecution.

10. 3. Ethical guidance should be available to
public servants.
Professional socialization should
contribute to the development of the
necessary judgment and skills enabling
public servants to apply ethical
principles in concrete circumstances.
Training facilities ethics awareness
and can develop essential skills for
ethical analysis and moral reasoning.

11. • Impartial advice can help create an
environment in which public servants
are more willing to confront and
resolve ethical tensions and problems.
Guidance and internal consultation
mechanisms should be made
available to help public servants apply
basic ethical standards in the
workplace.

12. 4. Public servants should know their
right and obligations when exposing
wrongdoing
Public servants need to know what
their rights and obligations are in
terms of exposing actual or suspected
wrongdoing within the public service.

13. These should include clear rules
and procedures for officials to follow,
and a formal chain of responsibility.
Public servants also need to know
what protection will be available to
them in cases of exposing
wrongdoing.

14. 5. Political commitment to ethics
should reinforce the ethical conduct
of public servants.
• Political leaders are responsible for
maintaining high standard of proprietary
in the discharge of their official duties.
• Their commitment is demonstrated by
example and by taking action that is only
available at the political level, for
instance by creating legislative and
institutional

15. • Arrangements that reinforce ethical
behavior and create sanctions against
wrongdoing; by providing adequate
support and resources for ethics-
related activities throughout
government and by avoiding the
exploitation of ethics rules and laws for
political purposes.

16. 6. The Decision-making process should
be transparent and open to scrutiny.
• The public has the right to know how
public institutions apply the power
and resources entrusted to them.
• Public scrutiny should be
facilitated by transparent and
democratic processes, oversight
by the legislature and access to
public information.

17. • Transparency should be further
enhanced by measures such as
disclosure systems and recognition of
the role of an active and independent
media.

18. 7. There should be clear guidelines for
interaction between the public and
the private sectors.
• Clear rules defining ethical standards
should guide the behavior of public
servants in dealing with the private sector,
for example regarding public
procurement, outsourcing or public
employment conditions.

19. • Increasing interaction between the
public and private sectors demands
that more attention should be placed
on public service values and requiring
external partners to respect those
same values.

20. 8. Managers should demonstrate and
promote ethical conduct
• An organizational environment where
high standards of conduct are
encouraged by providing appropriate
incentives for ethical behavior, such as
adequate working conditions and
effective performance assessment, has a
direct impact on the daily practice of
public service values and ethical

21. Standards.
• Managers have an important role in this
regard by providing consistent
leadership and serving as role models in
terms of ethics conduct in their
professional relationship with political
leaders, other public servants and
citizens.

22. 9. Management policies, procedures
and practices should promote ethical
conduct.
• Management policies and practices
should demonstrate an organization's
commitment to ethical standards. It is
not sufficient for governments to have
only rule-based or compliance based
structures.
• Compliance systems alone can
inadvertently encourage some public
servants simply to

23. function on the edge of misconduct,
arguing that if they are not violating the
law they are acting ethically.
Government policy should not only
delineate the minimal standards below
which a government official’s actions
will not be tolerated, but also clearly
articulate a set of public service values
that employees should aspire to.

24. 10. Public service conditions and
management of human resources
should promote ethical conduct
• Public service employment
conditions, such as career
prospects, personal development,
adequate remuneration and
human resource management
policies should create an
environment conducive to ethical
behavior.

25. • Using basic principles, such as merit,
consistently in the daily process of
recruitment and promotion helps
operationalize integrity in the public
service.

26. 11. Adequate accountability
mechanisms should be in place
within the public service.
Public servants should be
accountable for their superiors and,
more broadly, to the public.
Accountability should focus both
on compliance with rules and ethical
principles and on achievement of
results.

27. 12. Appropriate procedures and
sanctions should exist to deal with
misconduct.
• Mechanisms for the detection and
independent of wrongdoing such as
corruption are a necessary part of an
ethics infrastructure.
• It is necessary to have reliable
procedures and resources for
monitoring, reporting and investigating
breaches of public service

28. • Rules, as well as commensurate
administrative or disciplinary sanctions
to discourage misconduct. Managers
should exercise appropriate judgment
in using these mechanisms when
actions need to be taken.

29. • Rules, as well as commensurate
administrative or disciplinary sanctions
to discourage misconduct. Managers
should exercise appropriate judgment
in using these mechanisms when
actions need to be taken.

31. Reference
PRINCIPLES FOR MANAGING ETHICS IN THE PUBLIC
SERVICE
www.oecd.org/gov/ethics/1899138.pd
9th IACC: Presentation on, The OECD's Work on Ethics
Management
9iacc.org/papers/day3/ws2/d3ws2_ssynnerstrom.html‎
Principles for Managing Ethics in the Public Service:
OECD ...
books.google.com/.../Principles_for_Managing_Ethics